


All Cards on the Table

by SilverMoon53



Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: Extended Scene, Gen, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, but there was a question i had that wasnt adressed, its the scene when theyre playing cards and asking each other questions, slight angst, so i addressed it myself
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-02
Updated: 2018-09-02
Packaged: 2019-07-06 03:19:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15877431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverMoon53/pseuds/SilverMoon53
Summary: During the card game, Clementine asks a question that’s been bugging her since Marlon told her where they are.





	All Cards on the Table

**Author's Note:**

> me: I'm not going to join any new fandoms  
> also me: /goes to a friends house and binge plays all of seasons 2 and 3 and what there is of season 4 of this game in the span of about 24 hours/ hahaha oops

Clementine smirks as she flips over her card, her king easily beating the others’ cards, the highest of which is an 8.

“Told you I’m the best at card games,” she gloats as Louis groans. Her last question had been especially embarrassing for him and he hadn’t gotten a chance to get back at her yet.

“Are you sure you’re not cheating?” he asks playfully.

“I’d be impressed if she was,” Marlon chimes in, “considering you’re the one who shuffles.” The boys share a laugh, while Clementine snorts and Violet rolls her eyes.

“So what’s your question this time?” she asks, completely ignoring the boys instead of waiting for them to stop laughing.

“Well, this was a boarding school for troubled youth, right? Before all this happened?” Clementine asks. She choses her words carefully, slowly, not sure the right way to articulate her question but not wanting to put it off any longer.

“Yeah, but I already told you that.” Marlon is quick to sober up. He eyes Clementine closely, as though he knows where she’s going but wants to be wrong. “Is that your question?”

“No, I just wanted to make sure.” She drops the hesitance from her voice now. It’s too late to back down and she isn’t about to show anything that could be interpreted as weakness. “My question is: why are all of you here? Why’d you get sent to this school in the first place?”

Silence meets her words for the first few seconds, and Clementine almost regrets asking for a moment. Then she raises her chin and stares each of them down. Louis and Marlon exchange looks that Clementine can’t seem to read, but break that off when she turns her gaze to them. Violet still wears her scowl, but there’s something else there.

“If I’m going to be here, even if it’s just for tonight, I think I have the right to know who lives here. Otherwise, how can I trust you?” Clementine knows that she should be more cautious, less abrasive. She doesn’t want them to feel threatened by her, not when it’s already late. But she’s been burned too many times to bother with anything but being direct. Better to get it all in the open with sooner, than be hurt by betrayal later.

“How can _we_ trust _you_?” Marlon counters. He leans back, arms crossed loosely in front of his chest as he looks Clementine up and down.

“I’ve answered every question you’ve asked me, and I’ve been asked more than I’ve asked you.” She keeps her gaze steady, refusing to back down but also trying not to seem too threatening. “And I’m not the one holding back,” she adds. She watches the others out the corner of her eye but doesn’t look away from Marlon. Violet still hasn’t said anything, but her scowl has turned into a slight smirk. Louis holds his hands up, trying to diffuse the situation.

“It’s just,” Louis says slowly, “we don’t really talk about it much. No one really likes to talk about what it was like before everything happened, anyway.” Marlon nods, eyes narrowed in distrust, and Clementine keeps staring him down.

“It doesn’t matter now, anyway,” Marlon adds, though he doesn’t break eye contact either. “We’re a team. We keep each other safe.”

“Can it, mullet boy,” Violet scoffs. Even though Clementine hadn’t forgotten that she was there, she still jumps slightly. All three turn to face Violet, conflict momentarily broken by her sudden comment. Violet just rolls her eyes sharply, unphased by the others’ stares. “Either it doesn’t matter, in which case there’s no reason to keep it from her, or it does, in which case she’s going to find out eventually.” She sighs and leans back, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “May as well get it over with.”

The smirk is gone from her face now, and it was so small that Clementine wonders if it had been there at all. The scowl is back, though, and Violet doesn’t acknowledge Clementine’s silent nod of thanks.

“She’s right. May as well tell me up front,” Clementine says smoothly. “So, who’s first?”

Marlon shrugs, leaning forward to rest his arms against the table. “May as well be me, since you’re not going to let this go anytime soon.”

“I’m not,” Clementine says cheerfully and Marlon sighs.

“The typical reason, I guess.” He shrugs a shoulder, not meeting anyone’s eyes but not seeming to actively avoid it. “One too many fights. With other students, with my parents, with the teachers, whatever. My parents decided they didn’t want to deal with my temper and sent me off.” He looks up and meets Clementine’s eyes again, holding steady. “But like I said, it’s different now. We’re a team.”

Clementine just nods, understanding, then turns to the other two. Before she can ask who wants to go next, Louis throws a hand to his chest dramatically.

“Oh, ‘twas naught but a tragic misunderstanding for me,” he laments. Clementine looks at Marlon, eyebrows raised questioningly, but he just shakes his head.

“It’s easier to roll with it when he gets like this,” Marlon advises. Violet rolls her eyes again with a frustrated groan.

“Excuse me?” Louis says. “I was talking.” Satisfied that he has the others’ attention again, he keeps going, though without the theatrics. “Put simply? If you see a fire around here, there’s about a 99% chance I started it.”

“But only a 50% chance it was intentional,” Marlon cuts in, tone teasing.

“What can I say? I love fire.” Louis shrugs and laughs, then adds, “And besides, it’s not like anyone was actually _in_ the house I burned down. It was abandoned!”

“So, you’re a pyro?” Clementine asks dryly.

“Please, I prefer fire artist.”

“Hmm. Useful skill in the apocalypse,” she says with an approving nod, “being able to light things on fire. The walkers aren’t too fond of flames.” Louis laughs again, smacking his fists down on the table in triumph.

“Hah! Knew you’d get it.” He smiles widely at her, then turns to Violet. “Vi, your turn.”

Violet doesn’t speak right away. Her arms are still crossed in front of her, but her scowl is gone. With nothing in its place, Clementine is stuck by just how soft her face is, how gentle the abrasive girl looks. Before she can say anything on the matter, the scowl returns and Violet shrugs one shoulder.

“I’m gay,” she says simply. No one says anything for a few seconds, during which Violet’s face remains perfectly still and Clementine’s mind spins.

“Okay,” Clementine says after a stretch. “What does that have to do with-“

“You asked why I’m here,” Violet cut her off sharply. “I’m sure that’s not the ‘official’ reason, or whatever it is they have to put down to get me into this school, but I can promise that’s why.” Her scowl deepens, her eyes darken, her fists draw tighter together. “My parents couldn’t handle having a ‘fucking dyke’ – as they called me – for a daughter.” She takes a deep breath and relaxes back into her chair. “It’s whatever, though. They’re walker food now.”

“Wow,” Clementine says after another pregnant pause. “I’m sorry.” She wants to reach over the table and grab the other girl’s shoulder, to tell her that she’s not alone, but she’s too far away and doesn’t know the group well enough to be safe. Violet scoffs and waves a hand.

“Like I said, it doesn’t really matter anymore, right? Either they’re dead, or I’m never going to see them again. Either way, good riddance.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Clementine says slowly. “It’s just, I guess I forgot that people could be like that.”

“Lucky you,” Violet spits, though Clementine gets the feeling there is significantly less bite to her words than there could be. “Now draw. You’re holding up the game.”

Clementine looks up at the boys, who had been silent during the conversation, and receives two shrugs. She returns the gesture and everyone flips over their next card.

**Author's Note:**

> As always, feel free to talk to me on Tumblr or Discord!  
> Writeblr blog: @silverssideblog  
> Discord: cloudcover#7167


End file.
